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Most of the various groups/organizations which call themselves Christian have formulated some kind of official statement/summary of their b...

Friday, September 1, 2017

The Bloomington Statement

You may have heard that some Evangelical Christians recently offered a series of affirmations and denials about human sexuality known as the Nashville Statement (https://cbmw.org/nashville-statement/). What follows is the perspective of an Illinois Christian regarding those affirmations and denials:

Article I: We affirm that God designed marriage to be a covenantal, sexual, family nurturing, lifelong union of two people and is meant to symbolize the relationship between Christ and his Church. We deny that marriage was designed to be an exclusively heterosexual relationship, or that it should be relegated to the status of just another human contract.

Article II: We affirm that God has revealed that fidelity is the Divine standard in all human relationships, including those of a sexual nature. We deny that sexual desire is intrinsically evil or that same sex desires are always wrong.

Article III: We affirm that God created humans in the Divine image, that both genders are reflective of that image, and that both genders are equal before God. We deny that the biological differences between the genders justify excluding either of them from participating in things that we normally associate with one or the other gender.

Article IV: We affirm that God has ordained that both genders have equal access to God and have the same potential relative to salvation and participation in the Divine Kingdom. We deny that humans are subject to fulfilling any particular roles with respect to their gender as a consequence of the fall.

Article V: We affirm that the physical aspects of the human reproductive system do not necessarily reflect the self-concept of the individual. We deny that physical anomalies or psychological conditions should be used to denigrate individuals or deny them the realization of their potential as humans.

Article VI: We affirm that sexual orientation does not diminish the worth or potential of any individual, that they should be welcomed as faithful followers of Jesus Christ, and that they should embrace their God-given orientation (whatever that happens to be). We deny that a person's sexual orientation renders them incapable of living a productive and joyful life as a Christian.

Article VII: We affirm that self-conception should be in accord with God's holy purposes as revealed in Scripture, the Natural world which God created and with our own experiences as humans. We deny that living as a homosexual or transgender person is inconsistent with God's purposes.

Article VIII: We affirm that people who are attracted to members of the same sex are able to live an abundant and productive life that is pleasing to God through faith in Jesus Christ, and that they are subject to following the same holy walk that is expected of all Christians. We deny that same sex attraction is inherently unnatural or inconsistent with God's original design.

Article IX: We affirm that sexual desire can be distorted and twisted into sinful thoughts and behaviors, and that God expects mutual respect, consideration and fidelity be a part of all sexual practices. We deny that all sexual relationships outside of marriage are inherently evil or wrong.

Article X: We affirm that it is sinful to deny homosexual and transgender people the same love, compassion, kindness and respect that is accorded to heterosexual people; and that such denial is an essential departure from Christian faithfulness and example to others. We deny that the rejection of homosexual and transgender people is a moral imperative, and that such behavior should be excused or overlooked by other Christians.

Article XI: We affirm that it is our duty to love and support each other and to speak kindly to each other at all times. We deny that is our duty to judge and/or disparage each other.

Article XII: We affirm that the grace of God is all about forgiveness, mercy, reconciliation, and the power to transform a person's life. We deny that the grace of God does not extend to homosexual and transgender people.

Article XIII: We affirm that God's grace is sufficient to save anyone who comes to Christ and accepts his sacrifice for their sins, and that it also enables them to come to terms with whatever circumstances in life they happen to find themselves at the time of their conversion. We deny that the grace of God is at odds with those who identify themselves as homosexual, bisexual or transgender.

Article XIV: We affirm that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, and that his death and resurrection make reconciliation with God possible for those who accept Jesus as their Savior and repent of their sins. We deny that the Lord does not have the power, ability or desire to save anyone who desires that.

You have written a lot of provocative stuff here. I think that you should justify each of your points scripturally, and if you can't do that, then at least philosophically. A lot of work I know, and not something to be done in instant response to this post of mine. But maybe in time you could do it. I think that doing so would benefit both your readers and you.